Philadelphia Eagles: Darius Slay is PFF’s highest-graded player in Week 11

Darius Slay is having a fantastic month of November.

Appearing in four games in total, versus the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos, and the New Orleans Saints specifically, Slay has racked up 10 tackles a pick, and two fumble recoveries in four straight starts while playing good coverage as the Philadelphia Eagles‘ top perimeter cover corner.

… oh yeah, and he scored three touchdowns over that tenure too, how could anyone forget?

So naturally, as Slay continues to shine, it only makes sense that he’ll receive accolades for his on-field play, right? Yup! Slay’s won Defensive Player of the Week, been called the best corner in the NFL by Richard Sherman, and now can add “Highest Graded Player in the NFL” to his resume, as PFF awarded him the honor for Week 11.

The Philadelphia Eagles might just have their first Pro Bowl cornerback since Asante Samuel.

In a Week 11 contest versus the New Orleans Saints, Darius Slay was targeted three times.

Two of those balls were caught, one by Saints receiver Deonte Harris for nine yards and another by Slay himself, who took the ball 51 yards to the house for his third defensive touchdown in four weeks.

That, my friends, is a beautiful thing, but nothing new for the player rightfully nicknamed “Big Play.”

You see, over the first 11 games of the season, Slay has been targeted 60 times, allowing 39 catches for 356 yards and three touchdowns. While that doesn’t sound particularly good, Slay’s early season struggles make his numbers look a whole lot worse than his actual game has been, especially when allowed to play his game his way.

You see, at his heart, Slay is a man press cornerback. Sure, he’s big/fast/athletically gifted enough to play on or off zone and has the recovery speed to remain engaged in plays regardless of the down, distance, or situation, but he’s at his best when allowed to shadow opposing receivers, get in their personal space, and make some plays on the ball like his frequent practice partner DeVonta Smith.

From Mike Evans to Tyreek Hill, DJ Moore, and even Amari Cooper, Slay has kept many of the better receivers in the NFL out of the endzone and off the stat sheet when tasked with covering an opposing team’s top receiver, and thus far, he’s largely been successful.

Fortunately, Jonathan Gannon has been allowing Slay to do just that over the past few weeks and unsurprisingly, good things have come as a result.

Slay locked down Mike Williams in Week 9, stifled recently extended wide receiver Courtland Sutton in Week 10, and played a big role in ending Deonte Harris’ string of big games with his own statement performance in the Eagles’ first win at home in 2021.

And the best part? There’s still one more game in November, which means Slay could still add to his already impressive case to earn Defensive Player of the Month honors.

If you’re a betting person, I’d double down on Darius.

The Philadelphia Eagles haven’t had a Pro Bowl cornerback since Asante Samuel. They’ve signed big named players like Nnamdi Asomugha, Ronald Darby, and Byron Maxwell, traded for Dominique Rodgers Cromartie, and drafted a number of corners like Sidney Jones, Eric Rowe, and Rasul Douglas in the top-100 with little success to show for it. If Darius Slay can break that trend, earn a Pro Bowl nod, and, most importantly of all, actually play like a shutdown cornerback, it’ll sort of make all of those struggles worth it, right?